Rescue efforts end at collapsed Ghana mall

ACCRA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Rescuers have ended their search
for survivors of a shopping mall collapse in Ghana's capital
Accra last week which killed at least 14 people, officials said
on Monday.

The four-storey building, operated by Indian retailer Melcom
Ltd in Accra's Achimota neighbourhood, collapsed on Wednesday
due to a suspected structural failure as employees gathered for
morning prayers before opening for business.

Kofi Portuphy, head of the National Disaster Management
Organisation, said emergency personnel, who used excavators,
heavy duty cranes and shovels to remove debris, reached the
structure's ground floor late on Sunday.

"I can say that we have concluded our rescue and recovery
efforts based on our conviction that there will be no more
persons, dead or alive, in the wreckage," Portuphy told Reuters.

Melcom initially believed that around 50 people had been
inside the building when it collapsed, but it soon became clear
that dozens more were trapped under the rubble.

Rescuers pulled 71 survivors from beneath the twisted metal
and broken concrete, though four later died in hospital bringing
the total confirmed dead to 14. Dozens of others were injured.

Melcom said on Monday that one of its employees at the
branch remained unaccounted for.

An inquiry has been launched into how the mall's builders
were able to circumvent building codes after it was discovered
its construction had not been approved by city authorities.

State investigators have arrested two officials in charge of
authorising construction projects in the city. Police have also
detained the mall owner, Nana Boadu Nkansah, a local chief.

He apologised to the victims of the collapse on Friday but
maintained that he had acquired the proper permits for the
structure.

Melcom, which runs Ghana's biggest chain of retail
department stores with some 20 outlets nationwide, said it was
only renting the building and had opened its store there in
January.
(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; editing by Joe Bavier and Keiron
Henderson)